Additional Release of Deleted '5·18 Gwangju' US Secret Documents... US Officially Confirms Full Character Assessment of Jeon Du-hwan and Blue House Atmosphere

December 1979 to December 1980 U.S. State Department Documents... Including All Deleted Content
First Case Officially Requested and Received by Korean Government... No 'Smoking Gun' to Confirm Those Responsible for Shooting
Government to Continue Efforts to Disclose Additional Documents

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Ahead of the 40th anniversary of the '5·18 Gwangju Democratization Movement,' the government has publicly released classified documents related to the 5·18 Gwangju Democratization Movement that the United States handed over to South Korea on the 11th. The documents released this time are the first records officially requested by the government from the U.S. government, totaling 43 cases and 140 pages.

The records, produced by the U.S. Embassy in Korea and the U.S. Department of State from December 1979 to December 1980, include content such as the assessment of figures by William Gleysteen, then U.S. Ambassador to Korea, after meeting with Chun Doo-hwan, who was then the Security Commander, following the December 12 incident in 1979, and the urging for a smooth resolution of the situation after meeting with Choi Kwang-soo, Chief Secretary of the Blue House, just before the martial law was declared.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the 15th, all the records produced by the U.S. Embassy in Korea and the U.S. Department of State, which were delivered to South Korea this time, were made public at 4 p.m. on the same day on the '5·18 Gwangju Democratization Movement Archive' website. The U.S. side delivered the records this time including all previously deleted content.

Although the records do not include key content that could identify those responsible for ordering the shooting at citizens during the Gwangju Democratization Movement, they reveal the judgments and actions of the U.S. Embassy in Korea and the U.S. Department of State regarding the rapidly changing domestic political situation. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs evaluated the significance of these records as the first documents officially requested and received from the U.S. government. Until now, overseas records related to the 5·18 Democratization Movement had all been obtained by researchers, journalists, and others on a private basis.

The newly released records newly confirm the report content after William Gleysteen, then U.S. Ambassador to Korea, met with Chun Doo-hwan, Security Commander. Ambassador Gleysteen met Chun Doo-hwan on December 14, shortly after the December 12 incident, arranged by Robert Brewster, head of the CIA Korea branch. Gleysteen initially hesitated to meet Chun, fearing it might appear as recognition of the coup, but met him on the 14th and reported the results to the U.S. Department of State that evening. When the documents were first released in 1996, most related content had been deleted.

In the full text sent to the U.S. Department of State, Ambassador Gleysteen described Chun Doo-hwan as a figure with ambitions for power. He particularly emphasized that although the young officers have political ambitions that they do not openly show, they should be watched carefully. This content was revealed in Gleysteen's memoir in 1999 but is confirmed for the first time in an official document. The records also include Gleysteen referring to Chun Doo-hwan's new military group as 'young turks,' meaning young officers desiring reform, and that they sought U.S. assistance.

Gleysteen reported that Chun Doo-hwan "undoubtedly gave a self-centered explanation," and described that Chun claimed "it was neither a coup nor a revolution but an investigation related to the assassination of President Park Chung-hee." At this meeting, Chun reportedly said, "There is no personal interest, and I support President Choi Kyu-hah's liberalization program, and the military will be rebuilt within a month." However, Gleysteen foresaw that they might face "some extremely tricky choices" within a few months.

Additionally, the conversation Gleysteen had with Choi Kwang-soo, Chief Secretary of the Blue House at the time, was confirmed for the first time through U.S. Department of State documents. Gleysteen, aware of the situation before the martial law expansion on May 17, 1980, met with Choi and advised that the situation was being handled too harshly and that a new strategy was needed for a smooth resolution. Choi explained that the Choi Kyu-hah government was effectively watching the new military group and was trying to prepare a constitutional amendment program reflecting the demands of civil society, dissidents, and university students but had not been able to push it forward. This confirms that virtually all power had already shifted to the new military group.

Furthermore, the full text of Gleysteen's analysis sent after meeting with Lee Hee-sung, Army Chief of Staff (Martial Law Commander) at the time, was also fully disclosed. On May 18, 1980, Gleysteen reported to the U.S. Department of State on the relationship between Lee Hee-sung and Chun Doo-hwan and the background that the domestic situation in Korea was inevitably heading toward a tragic outcome. Gleysteen described that Lee Hee-sung expressed concern about the communist ideology of the Gwangju protesters and argued that if not controlled, it could lead to communization similar to Vietnam.

Although the records do not include key content such as identifying those responsible for ordering the shooting at citizens, the government plans to request the U.S. side to disclose related records for further truth verification. This is because documents from the Ministry of National Defense, in addition to those from the U.S. Department of State, are likely to contain critical content for uncovering the truth.

An official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, "The U.S. stated that it disclosed the records this time in the spirit of the ROK-U.S. alliance, cooperation, and friendship," adding, "In that sense, this U.S. action is meaningful, and now that the Truth Commission government organization has been established, the government will cooperate further to enable additional related documents to be disclosed."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.